Luna's Trial
by StumbleDore
Summary: READ SOLDIER OF HARMONY BEFORE READING THIS! It's been 10 years since Luna's Lover, Flaming Steel died and she's having a very hard time coping with his demise. However, when she finds out that the unthinkable has happened, she will stop at almost nothing to get it back and have it back at its rightful resting place
1. 1: The Beggining

_Author's note_: this is a collaboration between me and Lord Curly, if you have any concerns about what this story is about, just read Soldier of Harmony on Lord Curly's Profile first.

**Canterlot Palace**

**1000 Hours**

**10 years, 3 months after Steel's death**

'_Ten years_' I thought silently. '_Its been ten YEARS since he died. It's just not fair_' Tears started forming in my eyes and soon enough a small puddle began forming on my pillow. I wouldn't have even realized that Silver Lining had entered the room if it wasn't for that one creaky floorboard I've been meaning to fix. I immediately tried to constrain myself, but all it brought was more tears. It just hurt too much.

"Mom? Are you Allright?" Silver asked. She was very quiet when she spoke. I suppose she didn't want me to feel worse, she did have her father's tone of speaking, after all.

"Yes I'm quite Allright, Darling. I'm.. Just.."

"Thinking about Dad" she asked. That made me launch a new wave of tears from my eyes. She put her hoof on my shoulder and gently massaged it. That made me feel better. After several minutes of me crying, and her rubbing my shoulder, I sat up and tried to hold the tears back.

"I know it's hard, Mom. I've heard what he did in the Shadow War and I've heard about how much he loved him and how much you loved him. I know he's gone and that I never got to meet him, but I know he'd never want you to cry over him like this." She did have a point, but it didn't make a difference. I turned to her and hugged her tightly.

"Don't. Ever. Leave. Me! You hear?"

"Okay Mom, but can you please let go of me now? I feel like I'm about to explode." Chuckling, I loosened my grip on her, but didn't let her go.

"I just don't want to lose you, ok? I've lost more than enough Loved Ones." Just at that moment, my older sister Celestia burst through my chamber doors.

"Luna! There is urgent news!" Celestia said.

"What is it, Tia?" I asked.

"It's Steel's grave... It's gone."


	2. 2: The Grave

**Canterlot Palace Cemetary**

**1015 Hours**

**Steel's Grave Just Been Robbed**

-––—––––-

POV change: Celestia

The empty hole that was Steel's grave was... Just that, an empty hole that was Steel's grave. Luna, Silver Lining, both Vinyl and Octavia plus the Mane Six and I were standing around this hole, just thinking _why_ anyone would do this, to the Hero of the Shadow War, no less. We all turned to Luna's attention when she finally spoke up. I saw the utter sadness amd pain in her eyes.

"Who could've done this?" A tear rolled down her cheek and splashed onto the ground.

"Why would anyone do this to him AND me?" I saw the sadness turn to anger and hate, as did everpony else. We all backed up a few steps.

"WHO COUKDVE DONE THIS?!" Her wings spread out so wide and so fast that they caught me off guard. She then shot up into the sky and let out a piercing scream of agony and distress.

"Luna! Please calm down, your'e scaring Silver!" I called out to her. Her eyes met mine with distress in them, after a few seconds, she gradually lowered herself down to the ground, all the while I was trying to calm her down. As soon as she landed she broke down. We all tried to comfort her, telling her it was Allright... It failed.

"Oh, my Steel, why did you have to leave me?" It was very obvious that even after 10 years, it still hurt her as much as it did.

"Perhaps... Maybe I have a solution." Said an unfamiliar voice that was like gravel. We all turned towards the source of the voice, which was a Unicorn with a coat so dark you would swear it was a Shadow Unicorn '_but.. They all died...'_

"Who are you and how did you get into the castle without us or any of the guards noticing?" Luna asked, having stopped her crying and, as if on cue, about 12 Royal Guards surrounded the Stranger, Spears and swords pointed at his head the throat.

"My name is The Caretaker. As for I got in here without anyone noticing.." He let out a small sigh, "_he_ teleported me here."

POV Change: Luna

As soon as I heard those words, I was suddenly on top of the 'Caretaker' and had my hoof placed firmly on his throat, ready to crush it. I already hated him.

"How is he still _ALIVE_?" I demanded with a tone as cold as rock.

He tried to say something, but my hoof prevented him from doing so. I raised it slightly but just so he could speak.

"I.. Ugh.. Don't really.. Ack.. Know" I put even more pressure on his throat than before.

"TELL ME!" I once again let him speak.

He didn't say anything.

"LUNA! STOP WHAT YOUR DOING AT ONCE!" Tia shouted from behind me, but I didn't listen.

"I killed him. I VAPORIZED him! I saw him dissolve into nothing. Now tell me. HOW. IS. HE. STILL. ALIVE!"

"You didn't... full..vap..orize him. A smal.. Sliver of. Shadow escaped.. You.. Beam..." Once he said that, my eyes went wider than ever before. Then I narrowed them again and screamed at him.

"_LIAR_!" I charged my horn and his eyes were begging me to stop. I didn't listen to them.

"No.. Wait..." He begged, but I didn't listen to his words either, I was too full of rage. I aimed my horn directly at his head but before I let my beam go flying into his face, I felt my magic suddenly dissipated and I felt myself rising into the air, even though I wasn't using my wings. I saw Caretaker gasping for air when my hoof was magically lifted off his throat. I look around and saw Tia's horn lit up. When I saw the others, terror would be the appropriate word for the expression on their faces. Even _Rainbow Dash_ was scared. They'd never seen me like this, even when I was Nightmare Moon. When Tia put me down I looked at Caretaker trying to get back up. I did not like him.

"Well... That was a nice way to say hello, Princess. Anyway, I'll explain why Shadow stole Steel's body and I'll tell you what he's going to do with it, but I can't explain here... This place is too open. We need to talk in private," he looked at me. "Me and Luna especially." If looks could kill, he'd be dead a long time ago.


	3. 3: The Explanation

**Canterlot Castle Throne Room**

**1030 Hours**

**15 minutes after Grave Robbing**

POV change: Caretaker

"We're here. Now explain yourself, 'Caretaker'!" Luna hissed with a tone as cold as rock when she and Celestia sat down on their thrones. They were about 12 guards around me with swords and spears and 8 others stood off to the sides with crossbows aimed and ready. Knowing that the princesses would be safe, hopefully, I started to explain.

"Okay... *sigh* Before the end of the Shadow war, Shadow Steel created an extra body, just In case Steel defeated him. He was so sure that he was going to win that he made this extra body extremely weak for easy disposal. Well, as you all should know Shadow was defeated, for all intensive purposes. But right before Luna killed him, he transferred his conscious to this extra body, leaving the old one behind. 10 years ago he was so weak he could barely even levitate the smallest of objects. But... He's been extracting the souls of the dead to regain his power. Unfortunatly he has regained much of his power but not nearly as much as he had before. You you're probably wondering 'well how to you know all this?'"

"Yes, we were thinking something along those lines..." Celestia said, Luna stayed quiet so I continued.

"The reason I know all this is...*sigh* I'm one of his early creations." As soon as those words left my mouth the guards around aimed their swords as my throat and the guards with the crossbows readied their bolts and I blurted out in pretty much one word, "NowDontKillMe! When I was first created, I served his every whim, did whatever he saw fit. But as my life continued it was clear that I was developing some Kind of Free Will, sometimes I would disobey his orders, telling him that I misheard him, even though I heard him perfectly clear. One day he teleported me here with the orders of digging up Steel's grave and reporting back with his body. By this point I had been secretly reading up about Equestria's history and read just read about the Shadow War. Knowing what Shadow had been done in that war, I now am completely against him and all his thoughts and intentions."

"But did you dig up Steel's body, though?" Luna asked.

I sighed, "yes I did, but I didn't bring it back to Shadow. The one I brought back is an almost identical replica I made of Steel's body. It won't be long before he fin-" I got cut off as a sudden sharp pain flowed through my body, like something was ripping me into two pieces. I looked down to see already half of my body in half, I knew I was going to die. I looked at the guards around me, who had fear in their eyes and were backing off. I looked at the princesses. Luna was standing up and looking looking really pissed. Celestia on the other hand was standing up also but she had more fear than anger in her face. Then the pain became overwhelming and the last thing I felt was-

**Author's note: **_thanks for sticking to this fic, guys. Reviews will be highly appreciated and be sure to spread this around for maximum view-age!_

_P.S: updates will not be scheduled, if you start complaining about how unorganized I am, well fuck you I'm the Author._

_Take care, StumbleDore!_


	4. 4: The reveal

**Canterlot Castle**

**1045 hours**

**Author's note: **this chapter was written by Curly and so will the Next chapter. We're doing a 2 chapter thing. Enjoy!

POV change: Luna

The sudden and gruesome death of Caretaker caught us off guard. After a very detailed scan we couldn't find the cause. If not for the fact that he was ripped in half anypony would have concluded he died of natural causes. At first I thought Shadow was toying with us by sending Caretaker but the look of fear on his face was genuine. "How did this happen?" Tia just shrugged, not out of indifference but because she was too shocked to do much else.

"I don't know Luna. Even after ten years we still know very little about the beings Shadow created. What we knew was that they were stronger and faster than what they were based on and they felt no pain. We used to think that their bodies disintegrated when they died but Caretaker disproved that." She shuddered, "Honestly we know very little about them. We don't even know how they are made." My response was cutoff when I saw black smoke rising from Caretaker corpse and for ma familiar shape. My first thought was to kill him but before I had even finished thinking a pale blue beam had already passed through his head. "Really Luna, it been ten years and your first thought is to try to kill me. I don't get a hi or a how are you or even a how have the last ten years been?"

"You do not even deserve to draw breath." If only my glare could kill him. By now my sister had to be standing next to me but I dare not take my eyes off him lest he take somepony else out of my life. "So it is true, you are still alive." He chuckled, "Yes Celestia, I'm still alive. But you might want to call off your guards, this is only a projection of myself I'd hate for there to be an accident if your guards attack." The smirk on his face said otherwise. "Give me back Steel's remains and I will kill you quickly, refuse I will end you like I should have before only slower."

"Unfortunately, Caretaker was correct about one thing, I do not know where his remains are. Don't worry I'll find them soon and once I do… well, I'm being generous so I'll give you thirty days before I dethrone and execute you, you're sister, the other princesses… and your daughter, not necessarily in that order." His laugh echoed throughout the castle as his image faded away. "What do we do sister…?" She put her wing on my back, "We do all we can. Muster the guards! Put every city on high alert! And have pegasus search the country! Don't worry, we'll find him and we'll return Steel to where he belongs." I could barely contain my tears, "He belongs here, standing next to me."

**Well of Shadows, lost birthplace of Shadow magic**

POV change: Shadow

I could barely keep myself composed, anger and despair was practically flowing out of the night princess. I started to laugh but stopped myself, if I lose focus now over a month's worth of work is wasted. "Sir." I could feel my eye twitch, "I thought I said not to be disturbed?" It nodded, "Yes but…"

"Unless you know where Steel's remains are I suggest you leave before I kill you." He took a step back but stayed, "We're getting close, the teams are going to all the places Caretaker went after you sent him on his 'mission'. Actually I wanted to know if we should start step two." I growled, "Not until we have Steel, without him there is no reason for step two." He sighed, I'm really regretting giving them so much free will and intelligence. "I'm not the only one who thinks this. You revealed us to the princesses, they're going to put the country on high alert. The guards will be tripled in the populated areas, the longer we wait the higher the casualty rate will be!" Without turning I sent a spike of shadow through his chest, "You talk too much. Guard! Remove this weakling from my presence and tell the others questioning my authority will earn them the same fate. And dispatch the teams for stage two, have them remain outside the city until I signal them." I didn't even bother to look at him. I turned back to the symbols in front of me. "Soon…" With a few more marks the circle was complete. Now all that was left was to get Steel's remains and our other 'volunteers'.


	5. 5: The worst day at School ever

**Ponyville**

**1500 hours**

POV: Luna

After what happened earlier Tia suggested I go pick up Silver from school and spend the rest of the day in Ponyville. I don't know how much I'll truly relax but it will keep my mind off of the recent events that have been plaguing it. She was right, I needed this. Those thoughts were nothing more than an annoying itch now. I stopped to smell some flowers as I walked through town, getting smiles and hellos from everypony as I passed them. On the outskirts of town I ran into some of the other parents. A few years ago it would be weird to see these ponies here at the same time as the older class but the school was expanded allowing the foals to be taught simultaneously. Before the expansion the two classes switched off every other week making school last all year, unlike the bigger cities which only had half a year of school. Additionally another teacher had to be hired as Cheerliee couldn't teach both classes, so the part time teacher, who came in on days Cheerliee was sick, was hired full time. Her name is Doc, it was probably a nickname but that's what she said when introducing herself so nopony asked for her real name. She was a pegasus with a white coat and a charcoal mane, not quite black not quite grey. He cutie mark was a white cross in a red circle. When I first met her I asked why she wasn't working in a hospital or another medical related job. She told me that she had seen too much and was tired. I arrived just as the bell signalling the end of the school day rang. Many of the younger foals ran out of the building to their parent who asked them how their day went, that should have been the first clue something was wrong. I could hear the whispering instead of talking like they usually do. Then the older ponies came out, they were whispering amongst themselves, a normal occurrence, but I found them glancing in my direction and looking away quickly when I looked back. If this was any other city I wouldn't have noticed but this was Ponyville, I had been coming here for over ten years. I saw Pipsqueak heading towards me so I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind. "Hello Pip." He nearly jumped when he heard my voice. "H-hi Luna."

"Are you okay Pip? Where's Silver?" Pip had become almost like an older brother for Silver and looked out for her during school. I took me forever to convince the guards that having him was more than enough and that Silver didn't need a guard following her around the school. "Well," he scratched the back of his head nervously, "I'm not really sure it's my place to tell you…" I couldn't ask him anything else because Doc was walking our way. "Good day Doc." She sighed, "If only it was. I need you to come with me princess." That sounded some bell, "Did Silver go overboard with her pranks again?" She shook her head, "This is far beyond pranking I'm afraid." Following her inside I saw Silver sitting in her desk, she look terrified to see me. "Once Cheerliee returns we'll talk about what happened." The minutes ticked by and Silver only seamed to get more nervous. Almost an hour after I arrived Cheerliee finally returned looking worse than I had ever seen her. She sat calmly at her desk, "Now before we start is there anything you want to say Silver."

"I was provoked!" I could see Cheerliee's eye twitch and Doc almost lost it. "Provoked! That wouldn't cause you to beat another student half to death before throwing her through a wall! This the type of thing I would expect from soldier on a battlefield!" I gasped at that, Silver had picked up pranking from Rainbow and Pinkie but I never would have thought she was capable of something like this. "Silver!" I couldn't even think of anything else to say. "I'm afraid it's true princess. As of right now Diamond Tiara is recovering in Ponyville General. She has five broken ribs, a dislocated spinal vertebrae, and a concussion plus her left foreleg and right hind leg have been broken. Her father hasn't been informed yet so I don't know how he'll react to this but I'm afraid I have no choice as the rules are quite clear. Silver is here by suspended from school pending the successful completion of an anger management class and a clean bill of health from a psychiatrist." After getting a more detailed explanation of what happened from the teachers Silver and I left. We walked back into town silently, I couldn't even look at her right now but I could hear her hoofsteps behind me. Halfway to Twilight's castle Silver spoke up, "Shouldn't you be yelling at me?"

"To be honest Silver I don't even know where to start. As of right now you are grounded. That means no wonderbolt's shows, no movies, no arcade, no hanging out with your friends, and you will have a guard with you at all times." She stopped walking, "That's not fair!" I barely contained myself, "You but another pony in the hospital, I think I'm being lenient in your punishment." Arriving I opened the doors with as calmly as I could which still startled Fluttershy. "But mom-"

"I don't want to hear it! Guard please escort my daughter to an empty room and don't let her out of your sight." All of them were surprised by my tone. I sent a letter to my sister explaining the situation and asking her to bring an anger councilor and a psychiatrist. When she arrived I was surprised to find Cadence and Shining Armor in her group. I explained what happened at school to the assembled group, all of them were shocked by what I told them. After some deliberation the anger councilor was sent in first. I asked the therapist what he thought, he said he couldn't make any prognosis from what he heard but was interested in Silver's claim that she was provoked. After almost two hours the anger councilor came back. He said that Silver had none of the signs noticeable in violent ponies, or even bullies, and that she didn't even raise her voice when accused her of hurting her classmate because it made her feel good. While we continued to talk with the anger councilor the therapist went in to see Silver.

POV: Silver

"Hello Silver, I'm Doctor Neural." I just lazily waved my hoof in his direction. "I was hoping to talk to you about what happened today at school." I just sighed, "What's the point, you're not going to believe me either." I could see him move a cushion next to the bed I was on. "Well, why don't you tell me your side of the story?"

"What's there to tell? Everything that you've been told is true. I attacked Diamond Tiara and eventually threw her trough the wall." He wrote something down on his note pad. "And what started the fight?" I grunted, "Diamond was going on about her plans for Father's Day just like she does every year. She did change how she usually ends her little 'speech' though. This time she made a crack about how Father's Day was, and I quote, the best time to spend with somepony's father… if they have one." The fight started not long after that. What was I supposed to do, she was making fun of everypony who doesn't have a father. Somepony had to do something." He nodded, "And how is your relation with your father?" I snorted, "Like you don't know…" He smirked, "Humour me."

"Fine. I never knew him, he died during the final battle of the Shadow War before I was born. I guess, other than who he was, I've gone through what everypony else who's lost a parent goes through. I did it all, visiting the grave, celebrating his birthday, the Father's Days without a father… you get the idea." He continued to write even going on to the next page. "It sounds like you're not overly fond of Father's Day." Wow big shock, "I doubt you could find a pony without a father that actually likes Father's Day. There's always that feeling of longing when you see other ponies spending time with their father and you wish you could see what that's like. To just be held by them once… But I'm off track. Anyway I doubt you can find a pony like that, then again there's probably no other pony whose father is an alicorn and a war hero who died fighting." He nodded, wrote some more down and stood up. "I think I have all I need, good day princess."

POV: Luna

I wasn't sure if I wanted to hear what he had to say but if I don't Silver may never be able to go back to school. "I have some good news and bad news." The Doctor said as he walked out of the door. "The good news is that I found the source of Silver's outburst and it is unlikely it will happen again. The bad news is that I'm not sure how to help her." I wasn't the only one concerned, "Is there any way to help my niece?" Cadence asked.

The Doctor nodded, but soon after shook it, "Yes princess but I'm not the pony for the job. Her anger was derived from the sadness and pain she has regarding her father, or lack thereof. You'll need to see a specialist.

**Author's note:** _Hey-Hey! This chapter was written by Lord Curly himself once again and for the next 2 chapters I'll be writing them. Don't forget to review!_

_sincerley,_

_StumbleDore!_


	6. 6: One Late Night

**Canterlot castle**

**0200 hours**

**28 days until Shadow's deadline**

POV: Luna

_I need to clear my head,_ I thought as I stood on the balcony of my living quarters looking over all of Canterlot and the rest of Equestria. The events of late have been clouding my mind and Silver's outburst hadn't helped. I took in a deep breath and lowered my head close to the ground. I unfurled my wings and put my back left hoof backwards a little bit. Then in an instant I beat my wings once and I shot up into the air. Then with a few more wing beats I was picking up some speed. I wasn't sure where I was going, but I thought that a late-night flight would help clear my head and I could focus on the main issue. Well, since I'm flying on my own, might as well make it a bit fun, I thought as with a few more wing beats I picked up some serious speed. I straightened myself so I became much more aerodynamic and pretty soon I started seeing small insects shoot past my vision. It was quiet exhilarating, with the speed I was going, everything else seemed to go so... Slow. I stopped for a second to get my bearings. I had flown so fast that I really had no idea where I was. As I looked around I saw that I was right above Ponyville. Now, let's make this flight interesting, I thought as I sped down towards the empty streets. As I dropped altitude I flattened out, trying to gain as much speed as possible (with the help of my wings, of course.) when I was about 20 feet off the ground I sharply turned upwards and began to speed through the streets of Ponyville. I was going so fast that the amount of near misses I had was countless. I was weaving in and out of the streets, sometimes speeding into tight alleyways and accidentally knocking over some trash cans. It was all quite fun. I leaned upwards to get away from the streets when a familiar rainbow zipped past my vision.

"So we meet again, Dear Rainbow Dash." I said cheerfully. It was always nice to see Dash, even when it's the middle of the night and she's probably out seeing what a princess is doing flying around Ponyville.

"Quite the case, Princess" replied Rainbow, jokingly mocking my older way of speech. I laughed softly.

"May I ask what are you doing at this time of night?"

"I was just about to ask the same question. Then I realised I was talking to the princess of the night." We both laughed at that remark.

"Well then, may I ask my first question again? What are you doing out at this time of night?"

"Well, I couldn't sleep so I decided to go out for a small flight. I was minding my own business when I saw you zipping in and out of Ponyville's streets. And here we are now." She answered, "so, why are you out here? I mean why aren't you back in Canterlot doing all that princess stuff?" She asked. I sighed,

"Well, Dash. It's just all that's happened lately. Have you heard what happened with Silver and a Diamond at school a couple days ago?" She nodded grimly, "well that's only the second big thing that's happened."

"What else happened?" She asked, intrigued.

"*sigh* Shadow Steel is back and is planning to use Steel's remains in order to take over Equestria." She was shocked, her bottom jaw hanging freely in the breeze.

"We don't know what he's going to do, but I'm su-" I was cutoff by a bloodcurdling scream. We both looked at each other, then to the direction of the scream.

"What the hay was that?" Rainbow asked intently. We heard another scream.

"I do not know, Rainbow Dash, but it's coming from the Everfree Forest. We must go help." I said as I started to fly towards the screams and Rainbow soon followed suit. In seconds we were at the spot where the scream came from, but saw that nopony was there. We saw broken twigs and drag marks around the place but nopony was around. Then I realised what was happening.

"It's a trap." I quietly stated to Rainbow.

"Really? How'd you guess?" She answered sarcastically. My suspicions where proven correct when we heard a sinister laugh emanate from all sides.

"Show yourself Shadow!" I hissed. Another laugh.

_"Now Luna, you know just as well as I do that that isn't going to happen." _Shadow said.

"What do you want with us, anyway? Are we apart of some master plan of yours?" Rainbow barked.

_"Why yes, my dear Dashie. You and the rest of the Wielders of Harmony play a major role in my grand plan to overthrow the princesses and take Equestria for myself. But the princesses will have a much bigger role than you. I know that for a fact."_ Shadow explained. I just then noticed that he had created some Shadow Wolves and they were just on the outside of the small clearing, staring at us with empty, dead eyes.

"And exactly what is this plan of yours?" I asked.

_"Seriously, Luna? You think I'm that stupid as to reveal my entire plan to you? Just because I've been putting this whole plan together for a decade doesn't mean I've gotten dimmer. I've actually gotten brighter, as a matter of fact. I've learnt some rather handy Altering spells so I can bend the minds of unwitting ponies."_

"You're sick!" I exclaimed.

_"No, I'm not sick. I'm a monster, there's a difference. Seize them and bring them to my presence, but for Discord's sake don't let them know where we are, I don't want to lose a decade's worth of work because of your incompetence." _He said and then the Wolves started to close in on me and Dash. We stood back-to-back, ready to fight them off. One of them lept at my face but I shot an energy blast aimed at it, vaporising it in an instant. Another tried to bite my front hoof and I kicked it, sending it flying and crashing into another Shadow Wolf, causing both of them to explode into shadows. I heard Rainbow buck another, causing that one to burst as well. I looked behind me And saw that Rainbow was fighting like a lion, punching one shadow wolf in the face, leaping from that spot to tackle another to the ground, flying straight up into the air, turning around then falling to the back to the ground with tremendous speed and crashing into a small group of wolves that were closing in on me, killing them in an instant.

"Thanks for that." I said as I sent another energy beam flying straight through a shadow wolf, making quite large hole in its chest, then it comically looked at itself, then back at me and it collapsed in on itself.

No problem, Princess." Rainbow replied as she tackled another 2, snapping their necks and killing them instantly. There were only 2 other left, but they were just standing there, waiting for us. Then we did something we instantly regretted, we did what they wanted. I lept forward, horn glowing brightly with energy and Rainbow extended her front hoof, flying at the same time. Suddenly the two remaining wolves sidestepped away from eachother, revealing a large number of other shadow wolves. We tried to stop ourselves from flying right into them, but we were going to fast and our efforts were in vain. I real eased my energy blast, causing at least 10 of them to vaporise, but instantaneously even more took their place. We had flown right into his trap. We were done for.

**Author's Note: **300 Views! We made it to 300 views guys! Thank you guys for sticking around, it really means a lot. I am I little upset that I've actually got no one following this story, which is a shame bacau she most of the views are in the first chapter then most people fuck off after that, but I guess that's life. Oh and btw I decided to depict Shadow as a British person. I don't know why but I decided to make him like that. Anyway, I'll be finishing off chapter 7 pretty much as soon as this goes up so expect a double upload tonight (or today, whatever time zone you're in)

sincerely,

StumbleDore!


	7. 7: A Partial Reveal

**Unknown Location**

**Unknown Hours**

**28 days until Shadow's Deadline**

POV: Rainbow Dash

My vision was blurry as I awoke. I had a splitting headache and once I came to my senses I realised that the rest of my body was aching as well. I tried to move but my appendages were stuck in some kind of shadow rock. It felt sticky and slick but was cold and solid. I tried to manoeuvre my wings but they were covered in the same material. I turned my head to the left to see that Luna was in a similar situation but she also had her horn covered in the shadow rock. I saw that we were trapped in some kind of control room. The walls were a dark grey and the floor was made of the shadow rock that me and Luna were trapped in. There was nothing standing out in the room apart from what seemed to be a giant window, but it didn't open up to anything outside. Just then the door opened behind us and a sinister voice echoed through the room.

_"Ah, your awake. Welcome to my humble abode!"_ Shadow exclaimed as he walked past me. He turned to Luna, who was still asleep and frowned.

_"Wakey Wakey, pwincess Wuna!"_ He muttered as he shook her head in an attempt to wake her up. Once he saw that his first attempt didn't work, he slapped her across the jaw with his left front hoof, which both woke her and left a considerable mark on her cheek.

_"Now then. Now that both you girls are awake, let's get down to business."_ If he wasn't an evil genocidal bastard I'd maybe listen to him. **Maybe.**

"Why do you have us here? Why haven't you killed us like every other pony you've met?" Luna asked with a voice as jagged as a saw blade.

_"Because, My dear Luna, both you and Dash play a big role in my master plan. Without you two I'd have to spend more time and effort than I already have to make sure this plan goes without a hitch."_ He explained. His honey-like voice was almost unbearable simply because it was coming from the pony who destroyed thousands, if not millions of innocent lives. If I could've, I'd have turned his skull into a crater a long time ago.

_"Now, if you girls would look at the screen, it would be highly appreciated."_ Since we didn't know what he was talking about, we just started at him with eyes full of rage. He chuckled a little a bit and he lit his horn up. Suddenly the shadow rock started crawling up my body, it was the most awkward sensation, like cold honey mixed with rock and slime being poured up your body. Descriptions aside, the rock had crawled all the way up my body in a matter of seconds and the rock slid all over my face, only leaving room for my eyes and my nostrils, locking my head looking forwards toward Shadow.

_"Oh that's right, you haven't seen this kind of tech before. Well... Luna has, in the form of Steel's precious iPod." _I couldn't see, but I swear Luna was scowling at Shadow by the look on his face. Nevertheless he continued, _"anyway, this machine allows video to be broadcast over large distances. I call it..."_

"We know what a TV is. We just haven't seen one of this size." Luna spoke, cutting Shadow off mid-sentence. He responded by launching a blast of energy at her. It hit her in the chest and it knocked the wind out of her.

_"That'll teach you to shut up. Anyway,"_ he continued as he used his magic to turn the TV on. The TV had an image of a strange being. It was standing on its hind legs and was holding a sword and shield.

_"This, is my latest and greatest creation. I call it the Shadow Warrior. It stands at 6 feet 2 inches, it's Bipedal and uses hands, not hooves. It's very similar to a Human, apart from it's pony legs, which are used for speed. It's skin is as thick as your toughest armour so don't expect to take it down with standard swords and arrows."_ He explained as he pointed out the major aspects of the creature.

"Aand, why are you telling us this?" I asked.

_"Because, Dash, these are stationed ALL over Equestria. I've placed them around every town, city and village in the country. You won't find them, of course. I've made them specifically so they can blend into any terrain. Desert, forest, mountains, you name it, they can camouflage themselves so they're NEVER seen. But that's off topic. What's on topic, though is what these warriors can do."_ He turned to the TV and flicked his horn a few times, changing what was on the screen until the screen had an image of a sort of arena. The walls and floor were pure white but the walls had little openings in them. In the middle of the arena stood a lone Shadow Warrior.

_"Doctor, start the program."_ Shadow said to the TV. I guessed that the TV had a microphone built into it.

"Yes, Master Shadow" responded a disembodied voice. There was a loud click and one of the openings in the walls suddenly grew to a massive hole and about 2 dozen shadow wolves poured out, literally poured out of the hole. The shadow warrior turned its head and went into a defensive stance and it was just then that I noticed that the creature was only wielding a long staff as a weapon. One of the wolves went to attack the warrior but when the wolf was at the peak of its jump, it's jaw wide open, the warrior pulled back its staff and drove it straight through the wolf, literally impaling it onto the staff. Three other wolves tried to attack from behind him, thinking safety in numbers. The warrior quickly spun on its hooves and used the end which the previous wolf was stuck on as a kind of mace, swinging it once, hitting one wolf and causing a domino affect, effectively hitting and killing all three. The warrior then spun around once again to face it's other attackers. This time it made the first move, tossing his staff aside and leaping at a group of 4 wolves, each one facing the fate of death. He then leaped into the air and aimed himself at a wolf that had strayed from the main pack. It put it's left leg back as it extended it's right and landed on the stray wolf, snapping it's neck and ending it's life instantly. It then turned to the rest of the pack and waited for them to strike. And strike they did, with all of the remaining live wolves attacking at once, hoping to gain the advantage of numbers. But numbers didn't matter to the warrior, it seemed as in a matter of minutes it had dispatched ALL of the wolves. It truly was a scary thing to witness. Not even Equestria's most highly decorated soldier could take that many down on their own, but this... Thing did it without breaking a sweat. I only just stared in wide-eyed amazement.

_"Awesome, huh? And that's just the surface of what this baby can do._" Shadow said, changing the image on the TV to a picture of a map of Equestria, only it had black dots where the major cities were supposed to be. Appleoosa, Manehatten, Fillydelphia and Canterlot were marked with big black dots whereas smaller dots covered the rest of the map.

_"Now, I've deployed my shadow warriors across Equestria, placing them in and around every major city, town and village in the nation. On my word, the warriors deployed around the smaller towns will attack first, then the bigger ones and so on and so forth until eventually my warriors reach the major cities. If my plan had gone correctly, I'd have done the biggest part in my plan and made myself more powerful than anypony would ever dream of. Then the final part of my plan is simple, I crush every last opposing pony who stands in my way until I rule all of Equestria. My plan is simple, really."_ He spoke as he paced back and forth, flicking the image on the TV as he talked, giving us both a visual and an oral explanation of his 'master plan'. After he was done pacing, he turned the TV off and turned to us, _"Any questions?"_ He asked.

"Yeah, what the buck do have to do with your plan? To me it sounds like you've got this all sorted out."

"Ah, glad you asked. Your job, Rainbow, is to remove the Elements of Harmony from Twilight's new abode and hide them where nopony else can find them apart from me. Even though I've regained much of my previous power, the Elements can still harm me and even kill me, that's why I need them 'removed from play', if you will." He explained.

"And why in the name of Celestia would I do that?" I barked. He leaned in close and spoke with a tone as cold as a rock.

_"Because, my dear Dash... If you do not aid me in my plan, I will make you watch as I personally end the lives of all you truly care for. You mother, your father and your precious little Scootaloo."_

"You wouldn't."

_"And what makes you think I would not do such a thing, hm? I once stabbed a little filly 20 times and then I burned her at a stake until she died. That sentence just proved that I will kill anypony with anything I bucking want to. Now do you think I won't kill everypony you hold so dear? Hm?" _

"You... You truly are a monster." Is all I could stammer out. He only chuckled and hovered over to Luna's position.

_"Now, Miss Luna, or should I call you Mrs. Luna, on account of your late husband." I swear I heard Luna spit at him. "Well then. Anyway, you have the great honour of retrieving your husband's remains and delivering them to me. My men have found the location where they lie, the only problem being the place is almost inaccessible and is filled with horrible, nasty things. And I know you'll get hem because if you don't, your daughter's life will end in the most horrible way possible and I'll make you commit this act of murder. Understand?"_

"You won't get away with this! You hear me? YOU WON'T!" Luna screamed, while Shadow only chuckled and smirked.

_"I'm afraid I already have. You can't win this war, Luna. No matter how hard you try, no matter how many of my troops you take, your forces are NOTHING compared to mine."_ He leaned back and returned to his original position. He then lit up his horn and I started to feel all tingly and warm. Then the heat quickly intensified and I felt like I was going to pass out from heat exhaustion. A bright light filled my vision and in a matter of milliseconds I was back at the clearing. I felt so tired and started to drift to sleep when I saw five figures step into my view but they were only there for a couple of seconds as my body got the best of me and within moments I was unconscious.


End file.
